Over the summer, Jayna Hefford was appointed the Interim Commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), and it appears as though she's here to stay.

Rumours have been swirling lately surrounding the idea that a merger between the CWHL and the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) may now be inevitable with Jayna at the helm, which is fantastic news for the women's hockey community.

But who is Jayna Hefford, you may ask?

Those who have been fans of the game for a while now are aware of her long and extremely successful history in hockey, but for those who are new, allow us to introduce you.

A legend of the game both with the Brampton Thunder and Team Canada, Hefford delivered on an incredible career winning four Olympic gold and seven IIHF World Championships, while writing the CWHL record books. The dynamic scoring-threat was named CWHL MVP at the conclusion of the leagues inaugural season in 2007-08, also helping to lead the Thunder to the first ever CWHL championship that season. She then claimed the Angela James Bowl in 2008-09 as the CWHL’s leading scorer. Hefford blazed a trail of excellence setting the league record for career points (234) and goals (130), both of which were only recently surpassed by Les Canadiennes teammates Caroline Ouellette and Noemie Marin. Hefford remains the Thunder franchise leader in almost every offensive statistic, appearing in 128 games for the franchise from 2007 to 2013. Her CWHL legacy extends beyond her playing career with the introduction of the Jayna Hefford Trophy in 2015-16, an award annually handed out to the league MVP as voted by the players. The most recent recipient of the prestigious award was fellow Thunder player Jamie Lee Rattray who received the honour this past March as part of the 2018 CWHL Awards Show. (From the CWHL)

She was among the most recent class of inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and is a legend of the game.

There may not be a better-suited candidate for steering the ship that is the CWHL in the right direction, and we can't wait to see what Jayna has in store.

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